


Emotional Charms: Rey and Mona Background

by OverEnthusiastic



Category: Original Work
Genre: Aerial manifestation competitions, Dancing, Dark Themes with Lighter themes included, Emotional Charms, Kinda superheroes in a way, Magic, Mentions of Death, Multi, Original work and characters, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Suicide Attempt, Violence, slow going really
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-17
Updated: 2019-01-10
Packaged: 2019-09-21 02:15:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 8
Words: 14,867
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17034560
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OverEnthusiastic/pseuds/OverEnthusiastic
Summary: Rey doesn't exactly fit into the magic world, having come over with their non-biological sister, Mona, due to the terror of Mona being a magic orphan, stuck in the non-magic world. Mona feels as if she's slowly becoming invisible to everyone but Rey, worried when their foster family starts questioning why they took in Rey in the first place. Rebel just wants to get the new keepers to take the damn charms already, before the shadows become active again.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I'm totally gonna be editing this as I go, and I'm going to try to tag as many of the problems that come up as I can, but I'm just gonna tell you now, this is not a children's story. It has ups and downs, and a mostly happy ending, but it is dark.
> 
> This is as much as I'm going to write on this story. Thank you all for reading this!

Mona peeks her head out of the door to get a look at the new girl, that was just brought to her orphanage. She looks like she’s been crying for a while now, and Mona wonders what her story is. They don’t often get brand new children her age. Caretaker Sarah seems to be her normal, crabby self, telling the girl to stop crying, and moving to show her to the bunk room.

Mona scrambles back to the bunk room, settling down on her bed, to do her homework, like she’s supposed to right now. She looks up when Caretaker Sarah points at the new girl’s bed, the bunk under Mona’s, then leaves the room.

The new girl starts crying again, not moving from her spot next to the bed.

Mona looks around, scrunching her nose when the other kids start taking notice. She scrambles down from her bunk and circles an arm around the new girl’s stomach, pulling her over to the bed, “Shh, shh. If you cry too loud, they’ll take your food at dinner tonight.”

Her crying quiets down a little after that, Mona gently sitting her down on the bed, and turning to glare at the other kids.

The new girl curls up in the fetal position, pressing her face into her knees. Mona sighs and gets up, taking her homework down from her bed, before settling back down on the new girl’s bunk, doing her homework, while the girl cries herself to sleep.

 

Mona keeps next to the girl for the rest of the day, not bothered when she doesn’t talk any. Mona makes sure she eats, although the girl doesn’t seem to happy to do so. After a second glance, Mona can tell that she’s definitely way too thin for her age. 

Mona stays with her throughout the rest of the weekend, only talking to direct her, if she needs help with something. Mona doesn’t even learn her name, until Caretaker Sarah sets up the chores list, and she figures it out from there. 

“Reyna. Is that your name?” Mona asks later on, when the girl is just sitting on her bed, staring at the top bunk, while Mona settles down across from her with a book.

“Rey.” It’s the first time Mona’s heard her speak, and she sounds so broken. 

Mona looks over at her, “Would you like to read one of my books, Rey?”

Rey looks over at her, then nods, watching Mona climb up to her bunk and bring down another one of her library books. She takes the offered book, then opens it.

 

\---

 

Rey doesn’t speak more than a word or two at a time for the next month, usually trailing Mona at school, or to the library. She seems to trust Mona more than the others. Mona doesn’t really mind. She actually kind of likes the company.

The two don’t talk a lot, but it doesn’t seem to bother either of them, Mona wordlessly suggesting Rey new books, and vice versa. Rey seems very particular to adventure novels and fantasy. Mona loves fantasy and dark themes, so they end up reading a lot of fantasy novels together.

The school thinks the two’s relationship is a little weird, but they don’t have enough funding to do anything about it, especially with them living in a orphanage. Besides, they aren’t doing anything to disturb the other students, and the other students don’t bother with them.

-

Mona walks out of her class after school one day, happily munching on an apple. Rey falls into place next to her, after a couple of minutes, holding her books tightly to her chest. Her eyes are red, and she’s shaking. Mona frowns at that, trying to get a sense of what she’s feeling. She catches Rey’s normal sense of sadness, along with a new streak of just pain.

Mona sets a gentle hand on Rey’s shoulder, her worry skyrocketing when Rey speaks, “She should have just killed me.”

“Rey? What happened?” Mona sets her other hand on Rey’s other shoulder, attempting to get the brunette girl to look at her properly.

Rey starts crying again, holding her books tighter, “I shouldn’t be alive. Why am I still alive?”

Mona looks around the courtyard, before clicking her tongue and taking Rey’s arm, heading down to the basement, where the extra school supplies get stored. She pulls two bobby pins from her hair and picks the lock, leading Rey inside, then shutting the door behind them. Mona often sneaks down here after classes, if she doesn’t want to go home yet, so she’s already got a bit of a nice set up near the back, where she pulls the sobbing girl to.

Mona settles down next to Rey, on one of the old library couches that’s been nearly shredded, but still decently comfy, “Do you want to talk about what happened to get you here now?”

Rey leans back against the couch, covering her face with her hands, as she sobs into them.

 

Rey was the oldest of two kids, and the only girl. She loved her brother dearly, and being significantly older, they hardly ever fought. She was raised by her father, who was constantly moving in between horrible girlfriends, quite a few of which treated her almost like a servant, and would nearly do the same to her brother, had she not stood up for him. There were a few decent women, that Rey loved, but they’d never stay for long, and Rey didn’t know why. 

Rey loved her father just as much as her brother, and never wanted to disappoint him, so she was always trying to make him happy, do this thing here, make this woman happy, don’t upset the girlfriends, watch the brother, watch the girlfriend’s kids, make good grades, never ask to do things, and always avoid magics. Rey was a good kid, and sometimes her father would notice, scooping her up in his arms and playing with her hair every now and then, when she did well. 

Then this one lady came around, and her father really liked this lady, doing everything for her. The lady seemed to really like Rey and her brother too, hanging out with them, and taking them out to do things every now and then. She was so much nicer than most of the other women their father dated, and soon Rey and her brother were very happy to call her mom, the two highly present at the wedding.

Rey was happy for a while, not being told to clean the house, or being constantly yelled at for things outside of her control, but a few months into her father’s marriage, the woman became spiteful to her and her brother, often calling out Rey for not keeping her brother occupied and away from the adults, or yelling at Rey, when she came to her father to ask for something for school, or to tell him that her clothes got tears that she couldn’t fix. The woman didn’t want to see Rey or her brother out of their room, that they had to share because the woman insisted they live in her house.

Things took a turn for the worse, when the woman got pregnant. For a little while, everyone was excited about the baby, Rey most of all, because she was so excited for another sibling. Until one day, Rey heard her father and the woman arguing in the living room, the woman’s voice was the loudest of the two, Rey’s father not saying much. Rey heard the front door slam, risking a peek into the living room from the hallway, to find her father on the couch, with his head in his hands.

She slipped into the room, and sat next to her father, giving him a hug. Her father gave a soft chuckle at that, wrapping one arm around her, before stroking her hair. After a minute he’d stopped, then he did something that surprised Rey a little, he pulled what looked like a blue strand of hair away from her, then tossed it away from them, teasing her about growing blue hair. 

Rey had squeaked at that, running to the bathroom to look at her hair in the mirror, before coming back out and pouting at her father, who was laughing. He patted her head, before getting her to start on dinner with him, her brother sneaking into the kitchen with them after a minute.

 

Rey bursts into broken sobs, as she finishes the story, shaking like a leaf caught in a terrible wind. 

 

The woman had came back as the were sitting down to eat, Rey turned around to get some juice from the fridge. Rey heard a gunshot and immediately whirled around, in time to see her brother fall to the ground, red everywhere around them. Another gunshot, and her father fell right next to her brother. The woman looked right at her, before turning the gun on herself and firing, leaving Rey the sole survivor. 

 

Mona promptly scoops Rey up into her arms, the light-skinned girl curled in on herself, as she babbles about the state tracking down her biological mother, who turned her over to them, and refused to acknowledge that she even has a daughter. Mona strokes her hair, as Rey just cries for a long time.

After Rey finally calms down a little bit, Mona offers her a gentle smile, “Well you’ve got me now. I’ll be your sister, if you’d like.”

Rey starts crying again, nodding her head yes, as she clings to Mona.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the chapter with the suicide attempt. No death, I promise. Just lots of crying.

Rey’s slowly talking more, but only with Mona, constantly with the dark-skinned girl now, not that Mona really minds. Mona’s got her own problems going on too; number one being that it’s getting harder and harder to hide that she has magic from the orphanage. She’s known for a couple of years now, smart enough to put two and two together, when plants react to her touch, emotions, and occasionally thoughts. 

She’s nothing if not patient though, keeping her magic under control, so she can stay here with Rey, and not be kicked out of the country, or anything similar. Rey hasn’t seemed to notice her magic yet, or if she has, she hasn’t shown it. Mona’s worried that may not last long though, with how often Rey’s by her side. 

-

Mona settles down in her favorite spot to read, Rey settled with a book at the foot of the tree Mona’s perched in. Rey occasionally talks back at the book, something she’s been doing a little more often, but only when they’re alone. Mona snorts when Rey gets particularly upset with the main character of her book, before getting lost in her own story for a little while.

Mona resurfaces from her story, when she hears what sounds like one of the girls from the orphanage come up to them.

“Oh, look. It’s the mute. Where’s the invisible freak?” Tracy sets a hand on her hip, looking around for Mona.

Rey looks up at Mona, who’s studying Tract intensely, trying to figure out if she’s looking to start trouble. 

Tracy follows Rey’s line of sight, a smirk falling on her face, “There you are. Just wanted to make sure you two know, that we’re doing a hunt to find the magic the school is hiding from us tomorrow, if you want to join in.”

“Wait, how do we know there’s a magic at the school?” Mona turns to lay on her stomach on the branch, stretching out and looking down at her. 

Rey can tell by the way her eyes flash, that she’s worried for a different reason than Tracy is.

“One of the other Rakers found a document in the principal’s desk, from the magic ambassadors, requesting information regarding a magic presence found on campus. We’re planning on finding the magic ourselves and making sure they know just how much we appreciate their presence on campus.” Tracy cracks her knuckles, her eyes carrying a wild gleam, “I know you don’t usually care about these things, but it’s a chance to take a crack at one of those privileged magic fuckers, and I could put in a good word for you with Dedric.”

“No thanks.” Mona shrugs, rolling onto her back again.

“Come on, Mona. The gang could really use someone like you. I’ve seen you pick the security lock to the cafeteria’s kitchen. Just think how much better you could get with us. We’re all one big family. We look out for each other, and I know you could use some family.” 

“I’ve got plenty enough family. Have fun with your hunt.” Mona waves her off dismissively, Tracy crossing her arms with a huff, and looking at Rey.

“I don’t suppose you’ll join us either?” 

Rey doesn’t say anything, just looking back down at her book.

“Figures. See you later, freaks. Just come find me, if you change your mind.” Tracy saunters off grumpily, mumbling something about a recruitment quota.

Mona shivers, after Tracy’s out of sight and hearing distance, before looking down at Rey, “Let’s skip school tomorrow, okay?”

Rey looks back up at her, then nods, chewing on her lip. Rey pulls herself up, climbing up into the tree with Mona, and perching on a branch across from her.

Mona watches her for a moment, a feeling of worry and fear coming off the brunette girl, “Hey, don’t let her get to you. She’s always trying to recruit people, but she won’t force you into her gang.”

Rey holds her book to her chest, shaking her head, “No. I’m worried about the magic in our school. What if they find them, and the magic gets hurt? No one deserves that.”

Mona blinks in surprise, “You’re worried about the magic at school?”

“Of course I am. They could get hurt, or worse. What do we do? Can we tell the principal?” 

“No. The principal doesn’t care about that. He’s really anti-magic.” Mona closes her book, tucking it into her bag.

“Then how do we warn them? We can’t let them get hurt!” Rey’s eyes are already filling with tears, looking up at Mona intensely, “It’s not their fault they’re different.”

Mona’s lips spread into a smile, climbing over to Rey, and scooping her up in a hug, “They aren’t going to get hurt, Rey. You don’t have to cry for them.”

“How do you know that? Tracy’s gang is going to hunt them down.” Rey rubs her eyes, leaning back against Mona.

Mona suck in a breath, not speaking for a moment, before letting that breath out, and whispering softly, “Because I’m probably the magic they’re searching for.”

Rey freezes in place for a minute, before turning to look at Mona. Her lip quivers, and she throws her arms around Mona, starting to cry in earnest now, “What if they find out? I don’t want them to hurt you!”

Mona nearly falls over with the force of Rey’s hug, a tree branch moving to steady the two of them, “They aren’t going to hurt me. I promise. We’re skipping school tomorrow, remember?”

Mona cradles Rey to her, letting the girl get out her worry. Rey seems to calm down after a little bit, rubbing her eyes. Mona chuckles and rests her head on Rey’s shoulder, “Feel better now?”

“No. Why don’t you go to one of the ambassadors? It’s incredibly dangerous to be here. What if someone finds out?” Rey scoots over to a better spot in the tree, her eyes drowning in fear.

“Well, I’ve been keeping it under wraps for about two years now, even if it’s been getting a lot harder to do lately. Either way, I’m not leaving you.” Mona shrugs, pulling Rey’s book from where the branches caught it, when she all but tackled Mona.

“That’s not a reason not to go to one of the ambassadors, Mona. I don’t want you hurt.” Rey wipes the tears off her face, frowning at the dark-skinned girl.

“I’m not going to get hurt. Don’t worry about me.” Mona holds Rey’s book out to her, “I’m not leaving, so there’s no use arguing about it.”

Rey takes her book, hugging it to her chest, “You don’t know that. You said it’s getting harder to hide. What happens if they find out?”

“If they find out, then we’ll need to leave, but I can hide it, until we’re old enough to go out on our own.” Mona crosses her legs, setting her hands in her lap, “We’ve only got two more years.”

“A lot can happen in two years. Please at least think about going to the ambassadors?” Rey lowers her book slowly, looking at Mona with pleading eyes.

Mona looks back at her, before sighing, “I’ll think about it, Rey, but I’m not leaving you, alright?”

Rey nods slowly, holding her book in her hands and chewing her lip. Mona can’t read the look on her face.

“Do you want to go back to the orphanage now?” Mona reaches over and brushes some of her hair behind her ear.

Rey shrugs in response, following her down from the tree.

 

\---

 

Rey’s had a lot of time to think, keeping a quieter than usual, which doesn’t say much, but she can tell it worries Mona. She doesn’t want to worry Mona. She wants Mona to be happy, and safe, and loved. Mona won’t get that staying here. 

Rey had access to internet at one point. She wanted to know why her father told her to stay away from magics, and why everyone around here hates them. Instead she found and accessed the magic side of the internet, finding the history of non-magics and magics. Non-magics were almost always trying to kill the magics, because they were jealous, and didn’t think anyone should have that kind of power. The magics were so upset by the lack of care for others in the non-magics, that they, with the help of non-magic leaders, only interested in themselves, left to stay on their side of the world, while leaving the non-magics alone completely. They couldn’t think of anything else to do. They have ambassadors, so that every magic discovered in the non-magic side of the world is taken out of, and allowed to come to their side of the world.

Rey can understand why they did it, from what she reads, their side of the world isn’t plagued with this horrible class system, racism, sexism, and just blatant hatred of those that aren’t like the majority. Of course, it’s likely to have its own issues that Rey wouldn’t know of, but it can’t be worse than this place.

And Mona can go there. Mona should go there, but she doesn’t want to leave Rey. Rey loves her so much for that, but Mona could get seriously get hurt, or worse, if she doesn’t leave, and Rey just knows that Mona will do so much better going to the magic side of the world.

The only thing Rey can think to do, is make it so that Mona doesn’t have a reason to stay. Really, this was a long time coming anyway. Rey’s thought about it many times before. She just never acted on it, because of her family, and lately Mona, but Mona will be better off without her, and Rey will finally be done with everything. 

Rey looks at the train tracks in front of her, sucking in a shaky breath. She decides she wants to be reborn on the magic side of the world, maybe close to Mona, as a younger sibling or something. Rey hears the train whistle in the distance, clasping her hands together. She hopes Mona doesn’t get too upset with her. Mona deserves to be happy.

_This isn’t the way to help her be happy._ Rey freezes at the unfamiliar voice in her mind. She knows it isn’t hers. She knows her own mind too well for that.

Rey’s fingers tighten around themselves. Of course Mona is going to be sad, when she finds out what happened to her, but it’ll be better for everyone in the long run.

_No, it really won’t, Rey. Please, don’t do this._ The voice comes back, Rey scrunching her nose at it.

She decides to ignore it, moving closer to the tracks now.

_Rey, please listen to me. This is going to do nothing but hurt Mona. How is she going to feel if you leave her? You’re the only family she has._

Rey sniffles a bit at that thought, crossing her arms over her chest. She didn’t think about it like that. She just wants the best for Mona, and if she gets to finally be done with the exhaustion that is living, then it’s a good solution for them both. She’s so tired.

_Oh, honey. I know. Things are going to get better, but they’ll only get better if you turn around right now, and go home, please._ The voice is her mind is so sweet and gentle, and so very worried.

“I’m sorry.” Rey whispers to the empty space around her, stepping onto the train tracks, as the chugging gets louder and louder.

The voice in her mind is drowned out by the noise, Rey closing her eyes, as she waits for the hit. 

What she’s not expecting is to be tackled out of the way at the last minute, angry, and watery blue, almost purple eyes meeting hers, when they open. 

Mona shouts above the noise of the train, shaking Rey’s shoulders, “What the fuck is wrong with you?! Why would you do that?! What were you thinking?!”

Rey just stares at her, until she processes what just happened, then bursts into tears, crying until she’s basically dry-heaving into the grass. 

Mona starts crying with her, pulling her tightly to her chest.

The two stay like this, until the train passes, their tears slowly fading out. Mona buries her face in Rey’s shoulder, holding her securely against her chest, “Why would you do that?”

Rey sniffles again, clinging to her further, “It’d be so much better for everyone, and I hate it here. Everything hurts all the time, and you can leave. You should leave.”

“God, Rey. I hate it here too, but you can’t just kill yourself.” Mona rocks her gently, stroking her hair, “What would I do without you?”

“What you were doing six months ago, before I came here.” Rey shrugs, tucking her face into Mona’s shirt.

“I wouldn’t be able to. Rey, you’re all I have. You can’t just do that to me, okay?” Mona starts crying again, pulling back to hold Rey’s shoulders, “Promise me you’ll never do that to me.”

Rey’s eyes start to fill again too, as she nods, “I promise I won’t do that to you.”

Mona nods back, pulling Rey to her again, “I love you, stupid sister.”

Rey gives a watery chuckle, hugging her tightly, “I love you too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Reminder to those of you who are dealing with this: Please, please talk to someone, and get help. You are so very loved, and important, and you deserve to live a full, happy life.


	3. Chapter 3

Mona has been sticking a lot closer to Rey now, not even leaving her alone for classes. The school tries to reprimand them for being out of their normal classes, but both girls blatantly ignore that, refusing to be separated. The school counselor eventually gives up, and reschedules their classes together, since really they aren’t bad students, just weird.

Rey’s a lot quieter than normal, similar to how she was, when she first came to the orphanage, and it worries Mona. It worries her a lot. Mona keeps an eye on her, basically making her eat, and trying to get her to talk again.

Rey doesn’t seem to be responding very well, only keeping quietly tucked away. She at least seems to be seeking out Mona for comfort, often tucking into the darker skinned girl’s side. Mona feels like that’s something at least.

Mona chews on her lip, curling her hand around Rey’s one day after school, “Rey, I think you need to go to a therapist, or something. It would help.”

Rey shakes her head, “Can’t afford it. Therapy isn’t covered under the quote insurance for wards of the state in Respublica.”

“We can talk to one of the caretakers.” Mona looks over at the brunette, squeezing her hand, before thinking better of that idea. Caretaker Sarah would probably just punish them for asking, “Or we can go directly to a therapist’s office and see if they can give us a discount or something.”

Rey just shakes her head again, holding her book to her chest, “Won’t work.”

“Rey, I hate seeing you upset. Can we at least try?” 

Rey looks at her, then sighs softly, shrugging her shoulders. 

-

Rey was right, it didn’t work. The therapist threatened to call their orphanage, so they skipped out of there real fast. Mona grumbles at that, trying to think of a way to help Rey.

“Nothing will work.” Rey tugs on Mona’s hand sadly, her eyes looking a little glossy, “Nothing ever works.”

Mona scoops her up in a hug, shaking her head, “Well, we have to try something.”

“Nothing will work. Please, Mona, your eyes are showing more and more purple by the day. Someone’s going to notice.” Rey buries her face in Mona’s shoulder, tears starting to fall from her eyes.

Mona sucks in a breath, holding Rey to her chest, “I told you. I’m not leaving you. I’m especially not leaving you here alone.”

“I’m not a magic. They won’t hurt me like they will you, and I can’t come with you.” Rey tries to keep back her crying, but it doesn’t work, a choked sob escaping the young girl’s throat.

Mona stills at that, her nose scrunching, as she gets an idea in her head, “We don’t know that, do we?”

Rey’s crying quiets a little, the brown eyed girl looking up from Mona’s chest, “What?”

“We don’t know if you can’t come with me.” Mona’s lips quirk up in a smile, and Rey can tell that she’s got an idea, “Come on, let’s go pay the ambassador’s office a visit.”

Rey blinks at that, Mona tugging her along, towards the center of town, “Mona, I can’t go in the office.”

“I’ve seen people without magic go in the office before; they’re just accompanied by a magic.” Mona smiles back at her.

Rey stays quiet, moving closer to Mona again. At least Mona’s agreeing to talk to the ambassadors. If someone sees them, then Mona most certainly won’t be able to come back to the orphanage.

 

Walking into the office is weird, Rey clinging to Mona, when they get to the barrier. They easily pass through, Mona beaming at Rey when they do. Rey just smiles back at at her softly, while still keeping her close. No one greets them, or notices them come in, Mona opening the door, and tugging Rey over to take a seat with her. The reception desk is empty at the moment, and the speakers are playing a quiet music. Rey looks between the desk, then Mona, worrying that she’s going to be scolded for being in here. 

Mona just squeezes her hand, settling back into her seat calmly, and waiting until someone comes to the front.

The lady running the reception desk settles back into her chair, then jumps when she sees the girls, her eyes wide, “Um, hello? How did you two get in here?”

Mona rises from her seat, Rey following suit, tucked behind Mona as they walk. Mona closes her eyes, then opens them again, her eyes much more purple when she does so, “I have some questions about magic.”

The woman stills in her seat, “Oh. Oh, honey, Why don’t you ask your parents?”

“I don’t have any.” Mona shrugs and leans against the counter, “Is there someone I can sit down and talk to? I would prefer not to get the orphanage involved. They aren’t very accepting of magics.”

“Oh goodness gracious. Yes. Let me send you up to Elias’s office. Follow the stairs, office four. The non-magic can’t come with you.” The lady moves to her phone, dialing a number.

“She’s coming with me.” Mona states calmly, before heading to the stairs, hand in hand with Rey. She can feel the anxiety radiating from Rey, instinctively rubbing the back of her hand.

The receptionist opens her mouth to say something to Mona, before closing it, when she sees that they’re already halfway up the stairs.

Mona leads the way up to the office, which is labelled Elias Harber. She pushes the door open, keeping Rey’s hand in hers. An older dark skinned man looks up from his desk, a smile already ready on his lips, “Hello there. How can I help you?”

Mona looks him over, then pulls Rey into the room with her, taking a seat across from the man, “I have questions about magic, particularly questions relating to magics without parents, and what your protocol is there.”

Elias looks the two girls over, before tapping on his computer, “I can definitely answer those. May I have your names?”

“Mona. This is Rey.” 

“Do you have last names?”

“I don’t.” Mona looks over at Rey, who’s giving her a scared look, chewing on her lower lip, “Can you tell me your protocol for orphaned magics found here?”

“Orphaned magics found in the non-magic world are automatically taken in by whichever magic agency finds them, and become wards of that state. In this case, an orphaned magic that came to me would go to Liberre, the country I work for.” Elias types some information into the computer, which seems a little weird, given that he doesn’t have a keyboard.

“Do they have a choice in whether they are taken in by the country or not?” Mona rubs the back of Rey’s hand, the girl flinching, when someone passes by the door.

“No. They don’t. Especially young magics, given how dangerous it is for them to stay in the care of non-magics.” Elias looks up from his computer, looking at the two girls wearily, “We’ve never had an orphaned magic try to stay before though, so I can’t tell you exactly how we’d enforce that.”

“What is your policy on taking in non-magics?” Mona looks right back at him, staring him down with a sense of calm rarely found in someone her age.

A thud sounds from a little down the hall, Elias trying to keep a calm composure, “We don’t deal with the non-magics, and we’ve never taken one in. Non-magic orphans are wards of Respublica. We don’t have clearance to take them in.”

“Hmm. That’s all I needed to know then. Thank you.” Mona stands up, pulling Rey with her, the brunette girl tugging on her hand and giving her a look.

Mona looks back at her, then shakes her head, gently tugging her to the door. Rey looks back at Elias, then Mona, before making up her mind, and opening her mouth, “Mona is a ma- uf!”

Mona covers Rey’s mouth, dragging her out of the room, and offering Elias a smile, “Thank you for your time. Let’s go, Rey.”

“Wait.” Elias rises from his chair, Mona scrunching her nose, when she suddenly finds a wall in her way, Elias’s office missing its hallway facing wall, “I’ve got a few questions of my own, if you’d take a seat.”

Mona’s eyes flit around, taking in all possible exits, and ignoring the way Rey is looking at her. She hums, then heads back to the chair she just vacated. She uncovers Rey’s mouth, Rey sticking her tongue out at Mona.

“Thank you, Mona.” The wall of the office returns to its previous place, Elias settling back down, “You’re a ward of the Hallflower Orphanage, correct?”

Mona crosses her arms, “I’m not giving you an answer to that.”

“I’m taking that as a yes. Judging by your eyes, you are definitely of magic origin. Do you know what manifestation means?” 

“Vaguely.”

“Good. Have you started manifesting, and how have you started manifesting if so?” Elias’s fingers move across the desk, putting in information.

“Decline to answer.”

“Do you have a reason for declining to answer?”

“Clearly.” Mona raises an eyebrow at Rey, when the girl chuckles at Mona for being so blunt.

“Would you tell me the reason you won’t answer?”

“No.”

“This is going to be a very difficult process, if you don’t answer my questions.” Elias pinches the bridge of his nose.

“It’d be a much easier process, if you let us get back home, and forget we came in.” 

“I can’t do that. You already came in, and we need to get you registered with Liberre.”

Mona sits up in her seat, eyes narrowing at Elias, “I can’t do that, if you don’t take in non-magics.”

Elias turns to look at her now, his eyes tracking to Rey for a moment, before coming back to Mona, “Look, I know it’s hard to leave your friends behind, but we don’t take in non-magics.”

“Then you aren’t taking me in.” Mona says definitively, an eyebrow raised.

“Mona, I told you they wouldn-” Rey starts, before getting cut off by Elias.

“Why do you want us to take her in with you?” Elias crosses his arms on the desk, giving Mona his full attention.

“I’m not leaving her.” Mona states simply, Elias looking between the two girls again.

He runs a hand through his hair and sighs, turning to Rey, “Can I get your full name, please?”

Rey frowns in confusion at that, before clasping her hands together, “Um, Reyna Haven Bell. I prefer Rey though.”

Elias just turns to his computer, doing some digging. He’s quiet for a little while, before his eyes widen, and he has to turn away from the screen for a moment, “Let me talk to my boss. If you two don’t mind waiting here. I’m going to step out to make a phone call.”

Elias leaves the room, Rey waiting for the door to close, before turning to Mona, “Mona, did you really just convince them to take me with you?”

“I hope so. I told you I’m not leaving you.” Mona shrugs, settling back into her chair, “They’re going to have a hell of a time trying to get me to come with them, if you’re not coming with me.”

Rey looks at her, then surges forward and gives her a big hug, “I love you, you know?”

Mona chuckles at that, hugging her back tightly, “I love you too.”

Rey happily nuzzles her shoulder, before pulling away and settling into her chair, “How much do you want to bet they put the pictures in my file?”

“Oh, they definitely did. He looked horrified.” Mona reaches forward and takes her hand again.

 

Elias looks exhausted already, when he comes back into the room, plopping down at his desk, “I’m assuming you two want to be placed in the same foster home?”

“Yes.” 

“Okay, then I’m going to need both of you to answer my questions fully.”


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is more of a transition chapter, and it's super short.

The plane ride to Liberre is interesting. Neither of the girls has been on a plane before, and they keep switching spots to look out the window, amusing Elias greatly. Elias is personally escorting them to Liberre with him, something he tells them he does for all the orphaned kids that come to him, which isn’t a lot. 

Neither of them took the option to say goodbye to anyone from the orphanage, especially since Mona has no personal belongings, and Rey always carries the only belonging she cares about. The girls are passed out in the airplane seats right now, nestled together like they usually are. 

Elias got all their information from the school and orphanage, piecing together why they refuse to be separated through that, along with their interactions. They’re way too morbid for their age, which means Elias needs to set them up with a therapist, and a family that knows how to deal with mental health problems, which is what he’s been doing for most of the plane ride over.

He gently shakes them awake, when the plane lands, Mona waking first, before getting Rey up. The brunette girl is not fully awake when they get off, leaning on Mona for support, and rather sensitive to everything. She bursts into tears, when Elias tells them they’re going to eat first, before heading to the next office, Mona laughing at that, and squishing her in a hug.

Elias ticks another box on his tablet, sighing softly, as they head into the restaurant.

 

“I’m still a little impressed that you speak fluent Lire. I only took the one class we had together.” Mona elbows Rey once they get into the next office they’re heading to.

“Mmm, there was more Lire litterature that I liked than Respu litterature, plus my dad would sometimes slip into it, without realizing.” Rey shrugs, leaning her head on Mona’s shoulder as they walk. She’s still rather tired, “You’re getting closer to fluent yourself.”

Elias holds the door open for the girls, before leading the way to the testing center, where they’re headed to test the girls for school, and Mona for her level of magic, “You both speak Lire very well, which is normal for magics from Liberre, no matter if they were raised with it or not. It’s likely your mother was from Liberre, Mona.”

“That’s an interesting thought.” Mona hums, leaning her head against Rey’s.

Elias pats her shoulder gently, having found that parents are a sore spot for Mona. They head into the testing room, meeting a sweet gentleman that gets started on testing them.

 

\---

 

After spending one night in a hotel with Elias, and a full day of tests, questions, and medical analysis’, the girls are finally taken to the foster family they’ll be staying with. They’d gone out and gotten new clothes with Elias before coming over to the apartment of their new foster family.

Rey and Mona blink in surprise, when the two men open the door to greet them. They learn that Henry is a registered therapist, and Maxim is a teacher, the girls and Elias settling down in the living room to talk to the couple.

They seem to have already been informed about Mona and Rey, not reacting to Rey being a non-magic in the slightest. They instead ask the girls questions about themselves and their hobbies, surprising them a little. 

Rey’s a lot quieter than before, only speaking, when prompted, and not speaking a lot when she does. Mona is a little more forthcoming with hobbies and information, but not by much.

This surprises Elias a little bit, but not very much, considering the girls’ backgrounds. Henry, the therapist out of the couple, is not at all bothered by this, working his questions in a way that starts to make the two more comfortable little by little, until it’s time for Elias to leave.


	5. Chapter 5

Rey and Mona have been going to this school for a few months now. At first, the other students were really cautious of Rey, due to her being a non-magic, but now they just don’t seem to care. Rey finds it to be a both a good and bad thing. The students don’t patronize her, or bully her or anything, but they also don’t talk to her, or try to make friends with her, and that spreads to Mona too, considering that she and Mona are always with each other. 

She’d consider giving Mona space, so the other students would maybe approach her, but Mona seems to be just as anxious about being here as she is, so she stays next to her. 

Therapy is nice though. Their therapist is really sweet, and they talk to her about three times a week, occasionally two if she’s got another appointment. Her name is Jade, and she’s been helping them a lot. Most of the time they go to her office and play a game, or something similar. Usually, the games are question games, but sometimes they’re simple things, like Jenga, or Chutes and Ladders. 

The girls both decline to play any game, where your goal is to actively make the other players lose, like Sorry, or Monopoly, or even chess, much to Jade’s surprise. Rey in particular seems very against those games, while Mona’s just kind of indifferent, unless Rey's against it. 

They’re at a therapist appointment today, playing Apples to Apples, while Jade tries to get them to open up about their pasts a little more, especially Rey, considering what she went through. The girls haven’t opened up about life before they came here very much, Jade mostly only pulling information from their games, and the girl’s interactions with her and each other. 

So far, she’s only successfully managed to get Mona to talk about her fear of getting attached to people, something she’s only done for Rey. Mona confirms that she doesn’t get attached to people, because she’s terrified of them leaving her. That got a wince from Rey, so Jade definitely knows that it’s something they’ll need to talk about, when they’re ready.

The girls seem a little on edge today, or more specifically Rey’s aura is very off, colored with anxiety, sadness, and guilt. Mona’s aura is just worried, the purple-eyed girl looking over at her every now and them. 

“Would you girls like to play something else?” Jade smiles at them, when Mona ends up winning the round, “Or would you prefer to tell me how school is going this week?”

Rey draws back a little bit, sinking against Mona’s side. Mona reaches out and takes Rey’s hand, before looking back at Jade, “School is fine. We’re learning a lot about magic, and the community.”

Rey leans her chin on Mona’s shoulder, closing her eyes.

“Have you made any new friends yet?” Jade watches Rey’s shoulders stiffen, only picking it up, based on the amount of guilt pouring into her aura.

“No.” Mona shrugs her shoulders, Rey easily moving with it.

“Have you tried making new friends yet?”

“Nope. No one really tries to talk to us, so we don’t talk to them.” Mona scrunches her nose, Jade slowly understanding the problem, when Rey presses her face into Mona’s shoulder.

“Hmm, would you girls consider switching schools?” 

Rey shakes her head, Mona sighing softly and rubbing the back of her hand, “I don’t think that would change anything, and this school is closer.”

“Well, I know for a fact that Suerste École is a very good school, with a much different set up than traditional schoolrooms. The school is rather accepting of students with unique, or different situations. I would recommend at least looking into it with your foster family.” Jade starts putting away the Apples to Apples game.

Mona just hums in response. Rey nuzzles her shoulder, and looks at her, tilting her head at Mona. Mona looks back at her, tilting her head from side to side. Jade knows they’re talking something out in their own way of communicating, but she has little to no clue what they’re saying. 

Rey finally turns to Jade, speaking in a soft voice, “What do you mean by unique or different situations?”

Jade settles back into her chair, sitting crisscross, “I mean students that don’t tend to flourish well in other schools, for a variety of reasons. Typically magics with strong manifestations before full magic maturity, students of trauma, students from different family situations, impaired students, and those who just don’t benefit from a traditional schooling system.”

“So a school for the troubled kids, huh?” Mona scrunches her nose, the gears in her mind whirling.

“It’s not like what you’re thinking. Many of the others I work with go to Suerste, and they really like it. The school works with them, whether they have a condition, like PTSD, ADHD issues, social impairment, or anything else, and the school makes certain that they’re a very open and welcoming place.” Jade reassures her.

Rey tilts her head, keeping quiet, while nestling against Mona again. Mona just nods, “We’ll look into it.”

Jade smiles and gets up to put away the game, “How about we do a physical game this time? I don’t think anyone else is using the foursquare board today.”

 

\---

 

Mona decided to go look at the school herself, Rey following after her, like usual. They had to take a trolley to get to the school grounds, which was an interesting experience. Rey was extremely curious to know how it works, considering the lack of a driver, a few of the other passengers giving her wary looks. Mona glared at those people almost the whole time. 

One girl around their age is nice enough to start explaining exactly how the trolley is enchanted to work, Mona relaxing a little. That girl seems a little too curious about them for Mona’s taste though, starting to ask them their names, and what school they go to, and how old they are. 

Rey blinks at that, then looks up at Mona, whose nose is scrunched to the side. Rey smiles at her, taking her hand again and shaking her head at the curious redheaded girl. 

She raises an eyebrow, opening her mouth to say something, before the trolley gets to their stop, Rey and Mona getting off.

The girl gets off with them, a proud smirk settled on her face, “So, you’re heading to Suerste?”

Rey nods, Mona keeping quiet next to her.

“We’re headed to the same place then. Are you two new students?” She tucks her hands into her pockets, following them at a close distance.

Rey shrugs her shoulders, sticking closer to Mona, who’s not sure how she feels about this girl.

“I can’t tell what that means. Does that mean a yes, no, or maybe?” 

“If you can’t tell what she’s saying, then why are you still talking to us?” Mona's fingers tighten around Rey’s.

Rey squeezes her hand gently, leaning down to press her cheek to Mona’s shoulder.

“I’m just curious; no need to get so defensive.” The girl narrows her amber eyes at Mona, “Why are you heading to Suerste?”

“Do you need to know that?” Mona glares right back at her, Rey nudging her hip. Mona looks back at her, then scrunches her nose.

“I sure want to. I enjoy getting to meet new students, especially since you two look about my age, meaning you’re more likely to be in my class, if you are coming here.” She tucks her hands in her pockets, turning her head to Rey, “Is she always this resistant to simple questions?”

Rey chuckles at that, while Mona seems to be getting more and more annoyed with the girl by the minute, “Would you just leave us alone?”

Rey squeezes Mona’s hand again, “Hey, they aren’t doing any harm.”

“They’re annoying me.” Mona crosses her arms and lets go of Rey’s hand.

Rey pouts at that, instead clasping her own hands together, “I think they’re just trying to make friends with us.”

“You do know I’m still here, right?” The girl looks in between the two, as the group gets closer to the school.

Rey blinks at her, then nods, an anxious flush starting on her face, “Sorry. We’re just looking at the school at the moment, not students.”

“It’s okay, just a little offensive. You two don’t hang out with other people often, do you?” 

Rey shakes her head, looking over at Mona worriedly. Mona looks back at her, then sighs and leans her head on Rey’s shoulder.

“Nice. Would you like me to show you around campus?” The girl stops just outside of the main building.

Rey and Mona exchange silent ques for a minute, before Rey turns back and nods to her.

“Awesome. I’m Cerise, by the way. What are your names?”

“Rey, and Mona.” Rey reaches out to take Mona’s hand again, Mona uncrossing her arms to accept.

 

The school is actually really nice, and Rey seems very excited to have someone actually talk to her, rather than ignore her completely. Mona’s not as enthusiastic about Cerise, finding her questions to be too much, but she does like the school well enough. Some of the students react to Rey by looking the other way, and ignoring her completely, but a few students actually come up to them, and greet them. Mona suspects that has something to do with Cerise walking with them.

Rey’s actually talking to Cerise. She mostly talks in short sentences, but she’s answering the majority of Cerise’s questions. It’s good for her, and Mona’s already coming up with a plan to talk to their foster parents about switching over to this school. Mona does really like the way the campus is set up, and the fact that the school seems to act more like a university, than a high school definitely helps her make up her mind. 

Despite Cerise’s constant questions, she does seem to know the campus and the school very well, easily able to answer questions Rey and Mona give her, when they ask them. Jade was right, when she said this school would be good for them.

 

\---

 

“So, how was your first day at the new school?” Jade sets out the first domino in their game, happy to find the girl’s auras a lot brighter than normal.

Rey is nearly bouncing with excitement, looking in between Mona and Jade. Mona smiles at that, ruffling her hair, before moving to match the domino, “It was a lot better than the other school. Cerise, the girl who gave us a tour, when we went to look at it, is in our class.”

Rey positively beams at her, placing out a domino, then kicking her feet excitedly.

“Would you like to talk about your day, Rey?” Jade makes the next move, sighing internally, when Rey’s excitement dims.

Rey looks over at Mona, who nudges her shoulder, “You’re the one that made a friend today.”

“Cerise is your friend too.” Rey’s lips pull into a pout.

“I’m gonna call her an acquaintance for now.” Mona shrugs, putting out another domino.

Rey frowns at that, keeping quiet, as they play.

Jade lets the quiet go for a moment, before speaking again, “Would you like to tell me about your friend, Rey?”

Rey doesn’t look up from her dominoes, shaking her head. Her aura is clouded over with sadness and guilt now, Jade making sure to take note of that.

Mona looks over at Rey, reaching over to take her hand, a soft sigh pulling from her lips, “Our classmates are really nice though. Laily, one of the girls in our nature magic classes, sits in front of us, and kept showing us different plants in between lectures.”

Rey nods at that, leaning against Mona now, “Mmhmm, and almost all of the class actually talked to us.”

“That’s good. Were you able to talk with them?”

Rey just shrugs her shoulders, her voice a lot quieter, “I talked to Cerise.”

“Do you two have a lot in common?” Jade prompts softly, placing out the next piece in the game.

“Not really. Cerise isn’t as into books.” Rey watches Mona play her domino, “She does like stories though, so that’s fun. She knows a lot of random facts about things.”

Jade smiles at that, before turning to Mona, “And how do you feel about Cerise?”

“She’s annoying.” Mona grumbles, reaching over to ruffle Rey’s hair, when she sinks into the seat, “She’s not bad though. She’s just constantly asking us questions, and she pulled out an entire questionnaire, that she wanted us to answer, during one of the class breaks today.”

“And you don’t like the questions?”

“No, I don’t. If she wants the answers to her questions, then she can hang around and learn them, instead of getting them in one sitting.” Mona frowns at the dominoes on the table.

“Well, have you tried telling her that yet?” Jade puts out the next piece, putting it in an intentionally difficult position.

“No.” Mona thumbs one of her dominoes, thinking out her next move, “Maybe that’ll get her to stop her questions.”

Rey smiles a bit at that, before whispering a suggestion to her. Mona blinks at the suggestion, then nods, moving her piece.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short note: Any measurements I use are metric and temperature measurements are Celsius, in case anyone is confused.

Rey chews on her lip, tugging on her long sweater sleeves. The weather’s getting warmer, but she really doesn’t like her body this week. It just feels all wrong, too curvy, even though she’s still thin like a stick. Henry and Maxim have been trying to push her to eat more, seeming to focus a little more on her, than Mona, which feels unfair to Rey. Mona reminds her that she’s not the one with an eating problem, making Rey stick her tongue out at the purple-eyed girl.

She and Mona are heading out from the school library right now, looking for a place to settle down and read. Rey’s uncomfortably shifting her boobs, and wishing she could just get rid of them. They feel too big, even though hers are a lot smaller than Mona’s, and Rey’s taller than Mona. She doesn’t know how other people get used to these things.

“Are you okay, Rey?” 

Rey blinks in surprise, as she looks over at Mona, having not realized they’re already at the physical building, “Oh, yeah. I’m just a little uncomfortable is all.”

“Well, you are wearing a sweater in twenty degree weather.” Mona chuckles softly, opening the door for Rey, “Do we want to look around today? We haven’t explored this building very much.”

Rey heads inside, then nods her head, “That would be fun.”

Mona follows after her, a smile developing on her lips, “I heard that there’s a pool downstairs.”

“It feels like we go to some fancy private school more and more by the day.” Rey puts away her book with a giggle.

“I mean, technically we do. We had to apply to get here.” Mona tucks her hands in her pockets, picking a direction to walk.

“You have a point, but thinking of it like a private school makes me feel weird. Like, we didn’t have to pay money to go here.” Rey clasps her hands to her chest, following after Mona at a casual pace.

“Yeah. This country is a lot nicer than Respublica. I’ve never met so many people interested in bettering everyone’s lives, instead of just themselves.” Mona shoots Rey a smile, prompting her to smile back.

The two fall into a comfortable silence, quietly checking out the rooms on the first level, which is a couple of studios, two offices, and two gymnasiums, one smaller than the other.

They head up to the second level, finding two full dance studios, with the mirrors and everything, and a balcony overlooking the bigger gymnasium. A group of people are hanging out on the balcony, while someone heads out to a tightrope set up pretty far above the gymnasium floor.

Mona hangs back for a moment, cracking the door open, to see what’s going on better, Rey peering in over her head.

Music floods the gymnasium, the girl jumping down from the tightrope, being caught by an ocean blue ribbon that manifests underneath her. She starts moving, and it steals Rey’s breath away, the brunette girl nudging Mona, so she can slip into the room, and see the routine better. 

Mona blinks at that, following after her, out of curiosity more than anything. Rey isn’t usually the one to lead them into things.

Rey is absolutely floored by the dance, the girl capturing her attention and making her feel just a full sense of loss and longing. It strikes a chord in her heart, her eyes overflowing with tears. 

Mona nudges her shoulder after the performance ends, tilting her head with a worried look. 

Rey just smiles, and wipes her eyes, shaking her head in response.

“That was really good, Jas. Perfect for your theme this year.” One of the boys in the group, that Rey recognises as Rebel from their class, calls out to the girl, watching her swing over from the tightrope and land on the railing-less balcony, “Although your twirl technique needs a bit more practice, and your manifestation is a little rocky. I very much liked to way you allowed the ribbon to spin around you though, before moving into the spin towards the end. Slow and fluid, just like waves.”

Jasmine grins at him, setting her hands on her hips, “I want to make the judges cry.”

“I’m always concerned for the judges sanity, when it comes to you.” Rapunzel, another girl from their class, bats at the dark skinned girl’s hand, a grin ready on her lips.

“Eh, they signed up for it.” Rebel pats Jasmine’s head, before turning to look at the rest of his group, “Anyone else got notes?”

The others look around at each other and shake their heads. Rebel stretches his arms over his head, “Awesome, who’s next?”

“Woo! Me!” Cerise jumps up from her spot, Mona noting that everyone in the group is from their class. Cerise runs along the ledge leading to the tightrope, causing Rebel to laugh, as he settles back down.

Rey leans forward, excited to see another performance. Cerise has such a high energy routine, really showing off her magic, and giving a great visual effect. Rey almost cheers for her, holding her hands up in excitement, before looking back at Mona, to see what she thinks. 

Mona’s interested at least. She looks over, when Rey looks at her, a fond chuckle escaping from her lips. The noise seems to draw attention from Oeillet, who’s eyes widen in surprise, when she notices the girls.

She scoots back from her group slowly, moving closer to the girls, as Cerise’s performance finishes. She waits until Cerise jumps over, to whisper to them, “When did you two get in here?”

Rey immediately sinks back in on herself, her excitement vanishing, as she pulls her knees to her chest. 

Mona leans her head on her hand, the other hand going to rub Rey’s back, “We got to see Jasmine’s performance. We were just curious. We’ve never seen anything like this before.”

Oeillet settles her hands in front of her, tilting her head at the pair, “Really? Aerial manifestation is the most popular sport around here, and in the whole magic world actually.”

“Yeah, this would never count as a sport where we’re from.” Mona doesn’t even look, when Rey tucks into her side, the light-skinned girl looking at Oeillet warily, “So what exactly is going on? I can tell they’re dance based performances centered around a show of manifestation, but I can’t tell why you’re all in a big group going through individual performances.”

“Oh, this is one of our check in days. We perform for each other, and make notes on our routines, so we can better our performances. We’re a team of sorts. We do a big group performance, as well as individual performances for competitions.” Oeillet looks up, when Rebel calls for any other notes, shaking her head, “I’m up next. If you guys want, you can come sit closer to the rest of us. I’m sure the others would be more than happy to answer questions for you.”

Cerise seems to notice them, the minute Oeillet stands up, promptly bounding over, and rolling to the ground, flashing a bright smile at them, “Rey! Mona! What are you guys doing here?”

Rey relaxes a little, smiling back at her shyly, “We got curious.”

Cerise laughs and takes one of Rey’s hands, pulling her closer to the others, “Well, come sit closer then. We’re practicing for aerial manifestation, if you were wondering. Oeillet’s got a pretty fun innocent theme this time, but she always takes more of a seductress approach to all her themes, which is super hot, so warning if you’re into girls.”

 

\---

 

Mona rolls her eyes, when Rey dramatically flops down on the couch, a long groan escaping from her lips, “Monaaaa, why did I have to be born a non-magic?”

“Genetics.” Mona nudges her over, settling on the couch next to her with her book. 

Maxim’s in the kitchen cooking right now, looking over the island counter with a fond smile at the girls.

“Genetics suck. I really want to dance like they did. Aerial manifestation looks like so much fun. Just imagine twirling around above the ground and knowing you won’t fall, or if you do, you won’t be hurt. And the routines you could pull without the floor being a factor.” Rey rolls onto her back, letting out a wistful sigh, “I miss dancing.”

“You dance?” Mona puts down her book, blinking at the brown eyed girl.

“I used to. At one point I convinced my dad to let me take classes with this lady at the community center, that offered free classes on Thursdays. It’s been a long time since I’ve done that though.” Rey pushes herself up a little, so she can lay her head in Mona’s lap.

“Why did you stop?” Mona instinctively reaches out and strokes her hair.

Rey groans and presses her hands to her face, “We moved to a different city when dad and Candice got married, and there was never enough space in the house to dance, and I wasn’t comfortable staying after school, where people could see me practicing.”

Mona keeps quiet for a moment, processing that, “Well, maybe we could try aerial manifestation together. I manifest, and I can certainly keep up with both of us, if you want to choreograph.”

Rey sits up in her spot, looking at Mona with big eyes, “Wait, do you think that would work?”

“It doesn’t hurt to try. Cerise did say the floors were enchanted at school, and Oeillet jumped down without getting hurt, so all we’d have to do is make sure no one stumbles in on us practicing.” Mona closes her book, forming a plan in her mind, “We can talk to the physical courses leader tomorrow for that.”

Rey searches her face for a moment, before surging forward and scooping her up in a hug, “That would be so amazing!”

 

\---

 

“So, how is your week going so far?” Jade brought out a box of legos today, the group building different things, as they talk.

Rey is settled on the floor this time, focusing on trying to make a building of sorts, while Mona’s still on the couch, looking at one of Jade’s instruction booklets, and trying to make a car.

“Good so far. We stumbled in on some of our classmates practicing aerial manifestation, and we’re going to give it a try on Friday after classes.” Mona puts another piece on the car, which is coming together quite nicely, “Rey’s a very good dancer actually. I had her show me today.”

Rey looks up from her building, looking over at Mona, then Jade, her head tucked down a little, “I really missed dancing.”

“Why did you stop?” Jade looks up from where she’s currently building on a forest set she has.

Rey puts down the lego in her hands, slumping forward on the table, “We moved cities, because Candice wanted us to live with her instead. I hated moving. I had a lot of friends, and people I knew, and she took them all away. She took everything away from me.”

Jade just continues working on her set, “You’ve got people here now. You’ve got Mona, Maxim, Henry, and your friends at school. You’re more than welcome to keep up dancing here. I can even recommend you some classes, if you’d like.”

Rey looks up from where she was glaring at her building, her eyes a little glossy, “That, well, that would be nice. I don’t think classes are a good idea though. Everyone else is super wary of me here.”

“They’ll get used to you. I’ll send you home with a list when you leave today.” Jade smiles back at her, “What classes were you taking before?”

“Freestyle, ballroom, and whatever other classes Miss Kacy wanted to teach that day.” Rey thumbs her lego gently, “I really liked just mixing them the best though.”

“Was Miss Kacy your dance teacher?”

“Yeah. She didn’t charge for classes on Thursdays, or I’d have never been able to take classes.” Rey sets down the lego, turning to look at Jade, “She would have taken me in, but when the social worker gave her the file, she refused. I don’t know why either. Whatever’s in my file made every single person the social worker talked to reject me, aside from my mother, who rejected me without even having to read my file. I still haven’t read it.”

Jade stops building, “Do you want to?”

Rey stays silent for a second, before shaking her head, “Not yet. I’m not ready for that.”

Jade nods her head, smiling gently at that, “Well, tell me when you do, and we’ll talk about it.”

Rey nods her agreement, turning back to her building.

 

\---

 

Rey spins in a circle on the balcony, watching Mona head over to the tightrope, and try to figure out how to use her magic, like the others were doing, since her nature manifestations will need an anchor. Rey watches her, before shouting out suggestions, and tips on how to move with the baskets and ribbons she’s manifesting. 

She takes off for the ledge herself, getting across the tightrope a lot easier than Mona did, while casually stepping over the plants clinging to it, “This is really good so far. How are they holding up?”

“How are you balancing on the wire so easy?!” Mona squeaks, climbing up to where Rey is shakily, “I can barely balance on the plants, and they’re helping me.”

Rey laughs at that, kicking her feet out to sit on the wire, “Jay and I would compete to see who could balance the longest on things. He loved gymnastics, so I made it a point to come with him to classes, since Dad never wanted to. I kinda picked up a lot from it.”

Mona blinks in surprise, pulling herself up next to Rey. She’s never said her brother’s name before, “Well, could you show me how to balance properly? I feel like I’m gonna fall any second now.”

Rey grins, pulling herself into a standing position, and helping Mona up, “Of course.”

 

Mona takes to it pretty fast, rather impressed by how flexible Rey is, without even have magic, like Mona does, to keep her dexterity in check. Rey falls into Mona’s plants, happily showing Mona some more acrobatic moves, Mona copying her a lot easier with the plants assisting her movements. 

They spend the entire time just learning how to move with the manifestations, Mona learning how to move properly, and Rey learning how to move with Mona’s manifestations, which really seem to like her, much to Rey’s amusement. They both decide to spend the weekend studying how the aerial manifestations competitors move and dance, so they can come up with a routine to try out.


	7. Chapter 7

Rey’s the most excited to be doing their aerial thing, and it seems to be her main focus now, the girl happily throwing herself into practices with Mona. She’s a lot more bubbly than usual, actually talking to a couple of their classmates that aren’t Cerise every now and then. 

Mona couldn’t be more happy for her, even though she’s starting to feel left out again. With Rey actually speaking up for herself, people tend to forget Mona’s there. Rey notices every now and then, making sure to try and include Mona as much as possible. Mona appreciates the effort, but she doesn’t understand why people forget about her, unless she speaks up. It’s getting really annoying now, especially at home, when Henry and Maxim starting forgetting she’s there, if she’s not saying anything. 

It scares her, and she’s worried about if it gets worse, or what will happen if they forget her entirely. The only people who never forget her are Rey, and surprisingly Cerise, who’s still trying to get Mona to answer her questionnaire.

Rey and Mona wave off Laily, who just came over to talk to them about a project for class. Rey drops her hand, looking over at Mona worriedly, “It’s getting worse. Your voice is getting harder to hear.”

“Really?” Mona rubs her arm, looking at the ground, “I don’t know why this keeps happening.”

“It was happening a little in Respublica too. It’s just more intense, now that we aren’t exactly new here anymore.” Rey takes her hand, heading out of the doors, “Let’s ask Henry and Maxim about it, or Jade, when we go to see her.”

Mona follows after her, nodding her head in agreement.

 

\---

 

Talking to Henry and Maxim was interesting. They had no clue what could be wrong, as they’ve never heard of such a thing happening before. Henry seems to think that it’s just Mona thinking people don’t notice her. That remark instantly quiets the two girls, Rey squeezing Mona’s hand, when the dark skinned girl closes her eyes. They head out for their therapist appointment, Henry gently suggesting that they talk to Jade about how Mona’s feeling left out.

Jade notices that the girls seem a little off today, when they settle down, not moving to get a game this time, “Hi girls. Did something happen today?”

Mona crosses her arms, one of Rey’s tucked around her shoulder. Rey looks up at Jade, “Henry didn’t believe us, when we told him that people are forgetting Mona, and her voice is getting harder to hear.”

“Can you give me an example?”

Rey looks over at Mona. Mona lets out a breath, speaking as loud as she can inside, which comes out like someone putting the speaker on the second lowest setting, “Laily came to talk to us about our nature magic project, and forgot she was paired with both of us, until I started to speak. She asked if I was new, when she realized I was there, then offered to show me around.”

Rey nods her agreement, clasping her hands together, “The teacher seems to be ignoring her again, or well, forgetting she’s there. I don’t think Prof. Klacine would ever purposefully ignore any of us. It’s just Cerise and I that seem to be able to constantly remember her, and even I can tell that her voice is getting quieter, and it’s harder to know where she is, unless I’m touching her.”

Jade frowns at that, turning to observe Mona for a minute, “Hmm, Mona, could you stand up and head to my quiet nook, please?”

Mona nods, following through on her instructions. 

Jade nods at that, “I can see what you mean. You can come on back now, Mona. It sounds like some kind of signature issue. Mona, would you mind if I display your psyche lines?”

“No, but what are psyche lines?” Mona settles back down in her seat, nervously extending her hands, when Jade reaches for them.

“They’re a combination of things, but what I need to look at, is your signature line. Your signature line is what connects to all your other lines, and it’s essentially your name. It’s how other magics track and recognize you, and how they interact with you. It’s possible that your signature line was damaged being in such a negative environment in Respublica.” Jade looks directly into Mona’s eyes, gently coaxing out her psyche lines and displaying them. She moves through them for a moment, frowning to herself, before coming to a line that’s been corroded away in the middle, her eyes widening, “Okay, this is not good.”

“What does that mean?” Mona looks at the line in Jade’s hands worriedly.

“Your signature line is corroding, which means someone must have corrupted it some time ago. Corruption magic is very illegal, and rare. Mona, when did you come to the orphanage in Respublica?” Jade pushes her psyche lines back in, before getting out her phone.

“Caretaker Sarah says when I was four. I don’t remember anything before I came to the orphanage. Do you think someone purposely corrupted my signature?” Mona sits on the edge of her seat, her hands balling into fists.

“Yes. Do you girls mind if I make a call? I will be right back in.” Jade reaches out and rubs the back of Mona’s hand.

Mona shakes her head, blinking when Rey hugs her side, leaning her head on Mona’s shoulder, “We’re good. Make your call.”

Jade nods, heading out to the hallway.

Mona sets her jaw and closes her eyes to think through what just happened, letting the sound of Rey’s breathing next to her calm her. After a couple of minutes, she turns to look at Rey, “What do you think could have happened?”

“To get your signature corrupted?” Mona gives a nod, and Rey sighs softly at her, reaching out to take one of her hands, “If I had to guess, I’d say your parents may have spilt, and one parent was upset that they lost you to the other parent, so they did the whole if I can’t have her, no one can thing. But, hey, if that’s the case, you almost certainly have one parent that wants you.”

Mona leans her head on Rey’s shoulder, nodding again, “That would be nice. What’s the worst case scenario?”

“One or both of your parents died, and you reminded whoever took you in too much of their dead so-and-so, that they decided they never wanted to find you again.” Rey strokes the back of her hand, leaning her head on Mona’s, “Best case scenario is both your parents are alive, and some jealous piece of shit stole you and hid you from them.”

Mona smiles at that, “So in two out of three scenarios I have a parent that wants me. I like those chances.”

Rey squeezes her gently, a smile growing on her face, “Agreed. No matter what happens, though, I’m right here for you.”

“Thanks Rey.”

 

Jade comes back in the room a little bit later, a dark-skinned lady with cornrows following after her, it looks like there’s another couple of people settled just outside of the office. 

The lady with Jade smiles at the girls, settling down next to Jade on Jade’s couch, “Hi there, girls. My name is Maria Huang, and I’m with the Liberre Magic Investigation Bureau; Sarien branch. I’ve got a few questions for you. May I have your full names, please?”

Mona untangles herself from Rey a little bit, observing the new woman, “Mona.”

“Reyna Haven Bell, but I prefer Rey.” Rey keeps contact with Mona, looking to her worriedly.

“Is Mona your full name?” Maria follows up with, tapping in information on her tablet.

“Yes.”

“Do you mind if I have Jade display your signature line, Mona?”

“I do not mind.” 

Jade gives Mona an encouraging smile, reaching out to take her hands and display her psyche lines again. She has a much easier time locating the corrupted signature again.

“May I record your signature line, for evidence purposes, Mona?”

“Yes, you may.”

Maria holds up her tablet, taking a picture of the signature line, before leaning forward to inspect it herself, “Definitely corruption magic. How long have you been feeling the effects of the corrosion, and how have those effects manifested?”

Mona chews on her lip nervously, “Well, people don’t remember me very easily, aside from Rey, Cerise, Jade, and our foster fathers. Our foster fathers tend to forget about me sometimes too, though. I can’t pinpoint exactly when it started, but Rey says it was happening a little in Respublica too. It’s been getting much worse in the past couple of weeks. Rey says it’s harder to tell where I am when she isn’t near me, and that my voice comes out quieter than normal.”

Maria notes this, while Jade tucks Mona’s psyche lines away again. Maria looks towards the door, “Alright. That’s all the questions I have for now. We’re going to process and attempt to track the person that corrupted your signature. Right now, I’m going to have someone come in and help you with the signature issue. It’s likely you’ll need a new signature, but I’ll have Eliott come explain that to you. Eliott! You can come in now!”

The door opens, and a light-skinned man with long blonde hair comes in.

Mona and Rey awkwardly greet him, Rey wondering why he looks familiar for some reason.

“Hello there. I’m Eliott Huang. I’m gonna go ahead and get you set up with a new signature. Which one of you is Mona?”


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kinda long, but ehh, it's here and not sitting un-posted.

“Why won’t you even consider it?” Rey spins over to Mona from the ring they’re working with, the two starting on a solid routine today, “Maria could help you find your family, Mona. Your parents are alive at the least, and it’s just a blood test to narrow them down.”

“I don’t want to talk about this right now, Rey.” Mona falls into the swing her plants have created under the ring.

“Why not? I know how much you want a family, and you can have one.” Rey swings upside down, hanging from her legs, face to face with Mona.

Mona raises an eyebrow at her, “You know you’re my family, right? And I’ve got Maxim and Henry now too.”

Rey feels her heart swell at that, the brunette letting herself fall into Mona’s swing, and wrapping her arms around the dark-skinned girl, “You’re so sweet! You’re my family too.”

Mona’s lips quirk up in a smile, hugging her back, while the plants around them re-calibrate themselves to account for the shock, “You’re a sap.”

Rey lets go of her and chuckles, “And you’re way too sweet.”

“Yeah. Yeah. You had an idea for a routine?”

“Oh! Yes! Let me show you the song first, then I’ll go through the routine.”

 

\---

 

“Okay girls. We’re going to try something a little new for our next session. On Thursday I’m going to have Mona come in from four to five, and Rey, I want you to come in from five to six.” Jade packs up her cards, looking in between the girls to gauge their reactions.

“So you’re splitting us up?” Mona raises an eyebrow. Her eyes have been getting more and more purple, closer to lilac now, and her skin has been taking on a more magic-natural vibrancy of late.

“Technically, yes. Only for our Thursday sessions though. Tuesday and Sunday sessions will remain the same for now.” Jade folds the lid over the cards, setting them down on the table, “Are you okay with that?”

Rey chews on her lip, clasping her hands together, as she looks to Mona. Mona looks back at her, pursing her lips in thought, before giving a slight nod. Rey’s eyes track down for a moment, before she nods as well, turning to Jade, “Yeah. That’s okay”

“Good. We’ll start on that Thursday. Now, do you girls have anything else you want to talk about, before we end our session for the day?”

 

\---

 

It’s weird not having Mona next to her right now. They haven’t been apart for this long since they moved to Liberre. Rey doesn’t know what to do with herself. She plops down on the ground of the outdoor patch near the physical building, trying to figure out what to do for the next hour. The movement jostles her phone, a standard issue that everyone in Liberre gets, and makes it start playing the song she was listening to. 

She squeaks at that, moving to shut off her music, before humming to herself. She actually wouldn’t mind dancing right now. She’ll just have to check the studios, and see if they’re open, and set a timer on her phone. She shuts off the music and gets up, heading into the building to go check the times on the studio doors.

She grins at the availability, then sets herself up in the studio. She’s not wearing good shoes for dancing, but that’s okay, she likes dancing in her socks just as well. 

Once her music is set up, and she feels comfortable with it, she starts moving, closing her eyes and trying not to focus on the fact that Mona isn’t here.

\---

Rebel raises an eyebrow, when Priti comes up to him, the brown skinned boy leaning back against the couch of the commons room, “Hey, Priti. Are we finally going to hunt down your keeper today?”

Priti tucks her head, chuckling softly, “Yes. I’m sorry about last time. My keeper is finally alone, and they’re almost always with An’s keeper.”

“It’s okay, just super confusing for me. I don’t understand why we can’t just start with everyone knowing who the others are.” Rebel jumps up from his seat, grumpily pulling the bracelet from his arm and rolling it into a ball.

“It needs to be their choice to tell everyone that isn’t you or Nash.” Priti rolls her eyes, starting out of the school’s commons building.

“Don’t even get me started on Nash. If I didn’t force him to take the damn charm, then I’d know everyone, and it would be so much easier.” Rebel crosses his arms, rolling the ball in one hand, “If he had his way, I wouldn’t know who he is either.”

“He just needs more time to adjust than you did. Different people handle grief in different ways.” Priti wraps him up in a side hug, offering him a smile, “You two are partners. You’ll get over it soon.”

Rebel accepts the hug, but doesn’t move to return it, looking at the ground sadly, “I hope so. He was my best friend, and now we can barely talk without yelling at each other.”

“I feel like you two just need to sit down and calmly talk about why you’re upset, without getting mad at each other. Talk to Isis about it sometime. I’m sure she and Rai can help mediate.” Priti strokes his hair calmingly, directing them toward the physical building.

“I’ll give it a try.” Rebel sighs and looks in the direction they’re heading, “Another one from our school?”

“Yep. We’re trying to keep you all close this time.” Priti keeps along the path, a smile forming on her face.

“That’s something I guess. Do I know your keeper?”

“Not very well, I’m afraid. They’re rather shy, but if they’re without An’s keeper today, then they’re starting to come out of their shell a little more.” Priti’s pink eyes glitter a little, the girl smiling over at Rebel, “I think you’ll like them.”

“I usually like everyone, so I sure hope so.” Rebel tucks his hands in his pocket with a snort.

The two get to the physical building, Priti leading Rebel up the stairs, where Jasmine is hanging just outside the door to one of the dance studios. Rebel raises an eyebrow at that, looking back at Priti. Priti just shakes her head, the smile never leaving her face. 

“Um, hey Jas. What are yo-”

“Shh.” Jasmine cuts him off, ducking behind the wall, before peeking back into the room, to check if she heard. The girl seems to be as oblivious as before, still dancing to her music. Jasmine sighs in relief and turns to look at Rebel, keeping her voice at a whisper, “Hey. What’s up?”

“I think I should be asking you that question. Who are you stalking?” Rebel leans over to look into the room, not seeing anything from this angle.

“I don’t remember her name, but she’s one of the new girls in our class. Someone was trying to tell me she’s a non-magic, but I don’t see it. She’s amazing. I love her dance style, but I have no clue how to join her.” Jasmine peeks into the room again, happily slumped against the doorway. She moves back again, smiling at Rebel, “She’d do so well in story for aerial, but I don’t think she manifests strongly enough.”

“Oh, are you talking about Rey, or Mona?” 

“The white one. I don’t remember either of their names, and I feel kind of bad about it, but they don’t talk to anyone really.” Jasmine rubs the back of her neck nervously, her teal eyes tracking to the door again.

“Yeah, that’s Rey. She is a non-magic. Cerise confirmed that. I wonder if she’d consider joining our regular dance team.” Rebel moves closer to the door, peaking in, and smiling when he sees Rey dancing, the light-skinned girl looking quite peaceful for how he usually sees her.

“Rey. I love it. How in the world is she a non-magic? I’m pretty sure I can count the amount of non-magics in the city on one hand.” Jasmine crosses her arms, looking in the door with him again.

“I’m not exactly sure, but you could probably ask her, or Cerise.” Rebel’s eyes widen after a moment, the brunette reeling back to look at Priti, “Wait, the non-magic is who we’re looking for?”

Priti pats his head, “Technically, yes. That’s a complicated subject though.”

“Uh-uh. No way. She can’t defend herself, or fight properly. Are you crazy?” Rebel’s hands ball into fists, his eyes taking on a protective gleam.

“Oh, she’ll be able to defend herself just fine. Fighting on the other hand is probably something she’ll need training for.” Priti leans against the wall, humming to herself.

“How in the world can she defend herself? She doesn’t have any magic, and therefore can’t manifest. How would she even bubble the objects?”

“It’s not a hard spell, Rebel. I chose Rey, and there’s no going back from that.” Priti rolls her eyes at Rebel, frowning when an alarm sounds inside the dance studio. 

“Um, what are you guys even talking about?” Jasmine raises an eyebrow at them, starting to move away from the door.

“She wants to mentor Rey.” Rebel pinches the bridge of his nose, “I guess we have to go talk to her then.”

The three look up, when Rey darts out of the studio, taking off down the stairs. Jasmine blinks in surprise, before turning to look back at Rebel and Priti again, “Well, you might be a little too late for that.”

Rebel groans and rolls the ball back into a bracelet around his wrist, “Goodness damn it. Priti?”

“We’ll just try again another time.” Priti ruffles his hair, before starting for the stairs.

Jasmine looks after her, then Rebel, before smiling, “So are we gonna start on a plan to get her to join the team?”

“Of course.”

 

\---

 

“Rey!” Mona positively smothers her in a hug, when she gets to Jade’s office, “What’ve you been up to in your hour without me?”

Rey chuckles at that, hugging her back tightly, “I decided to try out one of the dance studios at school. I actually really like it, and I’ve got some new ideas for routines.”

Mona looks up at her, chewing on her lip nervously, “Speaking of, Jade thinks we should try competitions, especially since we’ve actually figured out how to work with both of us, and my manifestations pretty well so far.”

Rey squeezes her for a moment, before letting go of her completely, “We can talk about that after this, if that’s okay?”

Mona nods and takes a step back, “Have fun. I’ll see you afterwards.”

Rey takes her hand and rubs the back of it with her thumb, offering Mona a smile, before heading into the room, and settling down on the couch across from Jade.

\---

Rey blinks in surprise when she finds Mona again after the appointment, a smirk falling on her face, “Nice earrings. Did you just pierce them on a whim then?”

Mona rolls her eyes, reaching up and rubbing the earrings fondly, “Kinda. I ran into that guy, Nash, from class, and he convinced me to get them. I love them though. I’ve always wanted earrings.”

Rey just laughs, clasping her hands together, as the two head home, “They look great on you. So, Jade really thinks we’d do well at Aerial Manifestation, even if she’s a little confused as to how we do that with me. Um, do we want to?”

Mona tucks her hands into her pockets, a grin spreading across her face, “I want to, how about you?”

Rey twists her watch around on her wrist, “I-I’ve never competed with any kind of performances before, but it can’t hurt to try, right?”

“Right.” Mona bumps her hip, “Let’s get set up for it tomorrow then. The next round of competitions are in two weeks. Do we want to enter in those, or wait until October?”

“What do you want to do?” 

“I’m comfortable with either one. We’re getting quite good at that one song we’ve been working on.” Mona rolls her eyes, opening the door to the apartment for her.

“Well, we could do the first one then, if that’s okay with you?” Rey heads inside, her head ducked a little.

“That sounds great, Rey. We’ll enroll tomorrow. What are we thinking for names?”


End file.
